Page 21 of Fire of the Fox

My mind stuttered in a futile attempt to process his words. “Excuse me?”

He gave a heavy sigh and explained, “It’s a long story. I just need you to pretend to be my girlfriend for roughly two months. We’ll spend the first few weeks letting you learn what you need to about me, and then we’ll go to my hometown in Massachusetts to celebrate my birthday. It’ll be a weeklong trip during the last week of October. My mother is expecting to play matchmaker, and I can’t let that happen. I’ll be forced to marry this person and start playing house with them. A wife and kids isn’t in my life plan, so I need you to pretend to be my partner for the time being. If I already have someone, my mother can’t set me up with anyone or force me to settle down.”

I threw up my hands and shook my head. “Hold up! I’m not going to just go somewhere with you when I don’t even know you!”

He chuckled. “Yes, yes. Stranger danger and all that. But again, we have roughly two months before then. We won’t be strangers for long. Problem solved. You’ll be my girlfriend for this trip, and after the two months, we can part ways, never to have anything to do with each other again.”

This meeting was not going the way I had planned. The smile that had previously been plastered to my face was wiped completely clean as I stared dumbfounded at the man before me. This had to be a dream, or rather, a nightmare. Was this really the same guy I’d felt a spark with just 48 hours ago?

Narrowing my icy eyes on him, I asked, “Why don’t you go get an actual girlfriend to take home?”

Irritation pricked the corners of his eyes. “As I’ve already explained, I don’t want an actual girlfriend. I have my life—one I don’t want to share with some girl just because my mother thinks I should. Thus, here you are. If I were to ask some other random girl, she could potentially get the wrong idea and think this arrangement is more than what it really is. You, however, have something to gain from this just as much as me, and because of that, I think you’ll understand that this is strictly business. Nothing more.”

“What could I possibly have to gain from this ridiculous idea?”

He smirked and dug out a small box from his bag. “I’m glad you asked.”

He slid it across the table for me to grab. I narrowed my eyes at him then slowly opened the lid of the metal container. Inside were stacks of hundred-dollar bills. My eyes went wide as I snapped the lid closed and looked around us frantically.

“Are you out of your damn mind? Why would you have me open something with that inside? Are you not at all worried about prying eyes, especially after what happened before?”

He gave a small laugh and pulled the box back across the table. “I’m not worried about someone trying to steal it if that’s what you mean. In fact, I’d love to see them try.”

Arrogant asshole.

I glanced at the box then back up at him. “What is that even supposed to mean to me?”

“That,” he said, pointing at the container. “Happens to be exactly five thousand dollars. In other words—”

The air in my lungs caught, and the world around me seemed to stop as I whispered, “Italy.”

Chapter Ten

I HELD RUNE’S gaze with wide eyes.

My trip.

My dream.

He had it right there.

I sat frozen in complete shock for so many reasons. First of all, how the hell did he have that much money to hand out to a stranger like me? That was a lot, and it brought up the question of why he was willing to spend that sum just to secure a fake girlfriend. Sure, an arranged marriage would have anyone dragging their feet, but to pay five grand to avoid it …. Maybe Rune had figured out how to grow money on trees, and therefore had an abundance. Not only was that puzzling, but I was still reeling from how drastically different he was now than how he’d seemed before. The flirtatious gentleman had been replaced by an annoyed businessman. My head practically spun from the way the last five minutes had played out.

I took a deep breath and said, “Let me get this straight. You will give me five thousand dollars, all for pretending to be your girlfriend?”

“Correct. Your trip will be paid in full, and I’ll be happily single with no restrictions on my life once this is said and done. It’s a win-win for us both.”

Two months.

Two months of hanging out with this douche canoe and pretending to be smitten with each other. That couldn’t be too hard, and it would be far easier than my plan to gather the money via minimum wage jobs and selling paintings while trying to stay on top of school. But to go on a weeklong trip with him? That’s where I started to falter. There were way too many unanswered questions and worries that came with something like that.

I glanced back at the metal box, and I swallowed hard. My worries were suddenly cracking.

I met his eyes again. “Well, I have school, so how am I supposed to leave for a week?”

“Are you doing poorly in school?”

Crossing my arms, I tilted my head up proudly. “No. I have a perfect GPA and attendance.”

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